X-ray sources

Abstract

The present invention is directed to an anode for an X-ray tube. The X-ray tube has an electron aperture through which electrons emitted from an electron source travel subject to substantially no electrical field and a target in a non-parallel relationship to the electron aperture and arranged to produce X-rays when electrons are incident upon a first side of the target, wherein the target further comprises a cooling channel located on a second side of the target. The cooling channel comprises a conduit having coolant contained therein. The coolant is at least one of water, oil, or refrigerant.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE[0001]The present invention is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 364,067, filed on Feb. 2, 2009, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12 / 033,035, filed on Feb. 19, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,505,563, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 554,569, filed on Oct. 25, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,349,525, which is a national stage application of PCT / GB2004 / 001732, filed on Apr. 23, 2004 and which, in turn, relies on Great Britain Patent Application Number 0309374.7, filed on Apr. 25, 2003, for priority.[0002]The present invention also relies on Great Britain Patent Application Number 0812864.7, filed on Jul. 15, 2008, for priority.[0003]All of the aforementioned applications are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0004]The present invention relates generally to the field of X-ray sources and more specifically to the design of anodes for X-ray sources along with cooling of the anodes ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]Accordingly, the anode may be formed in two parts, and the X-ray aperture can conveniently be defined between the two parts. This enables simple manufacture of the anode. The two parts are preferably arranged to be held at a common electrical potential.

[0017]In one embodiment, the anode segments are formed from a material with a high thermal conductivity such as copper. The rigid backbone may preferably be formed from stainless steel. The excellent thermal matching of copper and stainless steel means that large anode segments may be fabricated with little distortion under thermal cycling and with good mechanical stability.

[0018]The plurality of anode segments may be bolted onto the rigid backbone. Alternatively, the rigid backbone may be crimped into the anode segments using a mechanical press. Crimping reduces the number of mechanical processes required and removes the need for bolts, which introduce the risk of gas being trapped at the base of the bolts.

[0019]The integral cooling channel may extend along the length of the backbone and may either be cut into the anode segments or into the backbone. Alternatively, the channel may be formed from aligned grooves cut into both the anode segments and the backbone. A cooling tube may extend along the cooling channel and may contain cooling fluid. Preferably, the tube is an annealed copper tube. The cooling channel may have a square or rectangular cross section or, alternatively, may have a semi-circular or substantially circular cross section. A rounded cooling channel allows better contact between the cooling tube and the anode and therefore provides more efficient cooling.

Problems solved by technology

This heat can reduce the target lifetime and it is therefore common to cool the anode.

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